Profile avatar
benplouviez.bsky.social
Retired and now tender of donkeys (2) and minder of cats (2) as well as reader of books (lots) and thinker of great thoughts (none really). Also maker of irritating jokes, so sorry (not sorry) about that. Aberdeenshire, Scotland.
43 posts 87 followers 327 following
Regular Contributor
Active Commenter
Posts 26 Comments 24

Spring, when jackdaws’ minds turn to building fancy donkey-fur-lined nests. Birch doesn’t seem to mind, Harley finds it a bit annoying.

submitted 20 days ago • 0 comments

Who wants to see two Maine Coons intently watching bird videos on YouTube?

submitted 85 days ago • 0 comments

Always so lovely to see: Orion. And yes, I’m pleased with the photograph.

submitted 97 days ago • 0 comments

OpenAI shocked and appalled that an AI company would steal intellectual property www.404media.co/openai-furio...

submitted 103 days ago • 125 comments

So sad that Drumpf was not able to attend today’s ceremony to tell us how happy he was to be in Germany, how there were very good people on both sides of the electric fence, and how he’s now going to build the greatest camps ever.

submitted 105 days ago • 0 comments

Anyone who posts here to tell us excitedly that the President of the USA is (a) lying, (b) corrupt and/or (c) incompetent is wasting their breath. We know, we know. Shouting it doesn’t make it any better.

submitted 112 days ago • 0 comments

I would urge everyone to read this piece, and particularly the last four paragraphs. Because what they are saying is quite extraordinary.

submitted 124 days ago • 1 comment

It turns out that Farage was right; foreigners were coming for his job.

submitted 127 days ago • 142 comments

For all UK politicians prat of about the “Special Relationship”, most Brits hate the idea of the Americans telling us what to do. So TrumpMusk’s blusterings could produce the bizarre result of making Peter Mandelson popular — and Nigel Farage unpopular — on this side of the Atlantic.

submitted 143 days ago • 0 comments

Book people. I’m fairly sure I was told years ago that Eyeless in Gaza was the first novel to use a broken time-sequence. Is this true? I can’t think of an earlier one, but was it really Huxley’s invention?

submitted 144 days ago • 0 comments

During Covid lockdown, if you had family round on Christmas Day the police could force their way into your home and make them return to their own homes. Does anybody know if this service is still available and, if so, do you have to book it?

submitted 157 days ago • 220 comments

Hey authors, don’t forget that if you use bookshop.org instead of that great big place, you will be helping out indie bookshops - very few of who make so much they are dabbling with building rockets - you can even choose which bookshop uk.bookshop.org/shop/booksho...

submitted 168 days ago • 6 comments

This is very good. Thank you, @iandunt.bsky.social, for a damn bit of sense.

submitted 168 days ago • 0 comments

Whisky and Tango in postprandial fraternal bliss.

submitted 168 days ago • 1 comment

BLTQIA+

submitted 175 days ago • 118 comments

UK journalists talking about echo chambers when 0.2% of journalists are Black and 2.5% Asian and 51% of the most influential journalists went to private school is a bit of a joke

submitted 176 days ago • 55 comments

I'm sorry, but putting up a Christmas tree in November makes you 100 per cent Absolute Monster.

submitted 176 days ago • 21 comments

I can’t remember if I’ve posted a #proofOfCat before. So here’s a belated mélange de chat.

submitted 177 days ago • 0 comments

musk has lost the clifton suspension bridge

submitted 180 days ago • 14 comments

This works.

submitted 181 days ago • 0 comments

Browsing randomly around BlueSky, I’m reminded that the USA is full of incredibly clever people with astonishing insight into the world’s problems. And every single one of them is going to be totally ignored for the next 4 years.

submitted 184 days ago • 0 comments

Sorry, the marketplace of ideas is closed. Welcome to the pawnshop of delusions.

submitted 184 days ago • 0 comments

Ru’s primary goal has always been to take Ukraine’s sovereignty, not territory. The land grab is only for leverage towards achieving that end goal. This was true in 2014, in 2022 and now. That’s why territorial concessions by Ukr would solve nothing, that’s why Ru insists on things like…

submitted 186 days ago • 3 comments

Angela Rayner on Grenfell: “Greed and deregulation were put before safety” Deregulation is not some buccaneering good as Tories would have you believe. Deregulation means removing our protections so that the rich and the powerful can take risks and exploit us. Let’s not help them do that.

submitted 250 days ago • 34 comments

Cleverly’s not a liberal, but he makes a valid point that most immigration arises from the UK’s serious needs for healthcare workers and students. Then he fucks it by referring to the need to “prevent exploitation and manipulation of our visa system”. Some honesty would be so refreshing.

submitted 536 days ago • 0 comments

So Britain’s loneliest PM has been rescued.

submitted 545 days ago • 1 comment